Downfall
by Madam Bluebird
Summary: Some Henry and Elizabeth fluff after a stressful day of work
1. chapter 1

_You're my downfall, you're my muse, my worst distraction, my rhythm and blues._

Elizabeth came home from a stressful day of work hoping to find her husband still awake and to share some quality time with him. Entering the threshold to their bedroom she sighed in relief to find the lights still turned on, but Henry was nowhere to be seen. Desperately needing to socialize with him, she made her way to the bathroom, a smile forming on her exhausted face when she saw him sitting in their bathtub. Henry opened his eyes when he heard his wife enter taking in the beautiful sight of her before resting his gaze on her eyes. He could see the exhaustion, but also relief and pure happiness to be home and to be with him.

"Hi." She walked towards him without leaving his eyes and leaned down to kiss his lips softly. Pulling apart, he slightly grazed her cheek and wiped his thumb over the barely visible scar from when she had injured herself while rock climbing as a teenager.

"Bad day, huh?" He asked even though he already knew the answer to that, wanting to give her a chance to talk about it.

"Mmm..." She looked away and no words were needed to let him know that she rather not share the details with him.

"Do you want to join me?"

"I don't..." Before she could finish, Henry interrupted.

"I just got in, the water is still hot." He tried to persuade her.

"Ok. Let me just scrub my make-up off first." She gave him a timid smile before turning around to face the mirror. Removing her make-up, she could see Henry watching her through the mirror with loving eyes making her unbelievable grateful for having him. Once done with her face, she started stripping her clothes, Henry's eyes never leaving hers in the mirror. Once completely naked, she turned around and walked to the bathtub. Henry held out his hand for her to help her get in and she gladly accepted. Once settled between his legs with her back against his body, he nibbled her ear before whispering.

"You have no idea how beautiful you are." She tilted her head back giving him a chance to press a kiss on her forehead.

"Gosh, I've missed you so much these past few days. I feel like we've barely seen each other or even talked to each other." She rested her head against the crook of his neck and allowed her eyes to close.

"I know, I've missed you too. But I'm here now and I'll be here for the whole weekend that's ahead of us." Elizabeth sighed sadly at his response making him frown. "What's wrong?" Henry worriedly asked.

"I wish I could say the same, but we both know I'll probably get called in. Even so, I don't feel like I have a normal life anymore - the life we used to have." She fell quiet after these words, so Henry felt the urge to know what she was hinting at.

"Babe, we knew that our lives would change with you taking the job. We talked about it for hours, so it's not really a surprise, is it?" He nuzzled her hair waiting for her to respond.

"That's not what I meant. It's more like... I don't know how to describe it... People don't see me anymore. They don't see me as a person anymore, they only see a woman dressed up in a suit forgetting that it is still me, Elizabeth McCord and not just the Secretary of State. They don't think I sometimes feel insecure or unsure about myself and my decisions just because I have a title now. Isn't that weird? When did I stop being a person to them?" She left that question hanging in the air without expecting a response from Henry. He tightened his grip around her letting her know that she was still listening and she slowly continued. "Remember last week when we were shopping in the mall and different people came up to us acting completely surprised that we were there? Thinking back, it really was insane. I mean why shouldn't we be there just because my job is to be the Secretary of State? I still need clothes to wear and - not to forget - my food to eat." Henry chuckled at that knowing how much she really needed food. "What the hell is wrong with these people that they think I've become a robot without feelings or the need to eat." From her tone he could tell that she was getting upset about this, so he tried to calm her.

"Come on baby, you know how it is. You have celebrity status now, so people stop thinking clearly around you. That's just how it is. But just so you know, I still see the real you. My beautiful, dorky wife with an constant desire to shovel food into her tiny body." Elizabeth laughed at his comment, taking her away from her bad mood. He immediately felt the change and continued. "And whether you were a suit or not, I always want to rip your clothes off and be as close as possible to you." Her laughter continued and he joined in.

"Now, who's the dorky one?" She grinned at him, making his heart beat faster. He was proud to have the ability to bring her out of her bad mood and make her laugh. They stayed in the tub a couple more minutes before the water was getting told. Henry untangled himself from her and reached to wrap a towel around his body before handing her one as well. "Can I make love to you now, my love?" Henry asked while already kissing his way down her neck. Elizabeth giggled, but slightly pushed him away.

"Let me just brush my teeth first. I'll be there in a minute." Henry acted hurt by her words and walked away. When he was already out of sight, he called back. "Maybe I'll just call the Secretary of State. She probably has an opening in her schedule." Hearing that, Elizabeth quickly rinsed the toothpaste out of her mouth before running into the bedroom and pushing Henry on his back, holding his wrists above his head.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" She acted mad, but he could see the twinkle in her eyes.

"You heard me. I was gonna call the Secretary and ask her if she wanted to make love to me since my wife seems to be unavailable." He gave her a devious grin. Elizabeth opened her mouth to response, but before she could Henry quickly rose his head up and took her towel between his teeth, pulling it from her body and leaving her completely naked above him.

"You're so naughty." But she leaned down to kiss him and let his wrists go. Henry immediately roamed her body with his big hands before holding on to her back and rolling them over, so he could be on top. He kissed her deeply before pulling apart and looking down at her with such love, it melted her heart.

" I want to make love to you now, Elizabeth McCord - Secretary of State, because you're my wife and I could never ever stop seeing you as a person." Elizabeth didn't respond but instead she undid the towel around his hips and pulled him closer to her. Henry took that as his cue and started kissing her again, simply taking all of her in and the feel of her around him.


	2. The better half

A/N: I'm kinda sick of working on the same story all the time, so I decided to just write another one-shot for this one because I love my OTP.

"Henry are you home?" Elizabeth entered their townhouse but couldn't find her husband anywhere. Sighing loudly, she made her way into the kitchen- not to cook, but to find the menu of the Thai place she liked and order some food. Considering the kids all being out for the night, she thought she could have some alone time with Henry, but he seemed to have other plans. Elizabeth dragged herself up the stairs and made her way towards the bathroom to enjoy a long hot shower, not having to worry about leaving enough hot water for the rest of the family. Twenty minutes later, she walked back downstairs in joggings and a cardigan to find an empty house still. She took her phone out of her purse and dialed Henry's number to find out what he was doing, but it went straight to voicemail. Shrugging her shoulders, she entered the living room and turned on the TV. Before she could sit down though, Elizabeth heard the front door open and quickly made her way to it.

"Hi honey. I see you already took care of our food tonight." Henry greeted her while balancing the delivered food in his hands.

"I did. You have perfect timing." She replied and took the boxes out of his hands. " I was wondering where you were, but I'm glad you're home now."

" I know, I'm sorry I'm home so late but work was really tough today and I had to stop by the mall to pick up some stuff that Jason needs for his field trip." He apologised with a peck on her cheek. They loaded their plates with food and Elizabeth poured them two glasses of wine to have with dinner. Nodding towards the living room, Elizabeth agreed with a smile and they sat down in front of the TV.

"This is so good!" Elizabeth moaned while chewing on her PadThai.

"It is. Did you try the soup yet?"

They finished their food in silence vaguely paying attention to cupcake wars. Once they were done eating, Elizabeth noticed that Henry was unusual quiet, deep lost in thought.

"Are you okay?" She asked, slightly nudging his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Something seems to be on your mind though. Care to elaborate?" She turned her face to him, resting her hand on his thigh. Sighing loudly, he turned to look at her knowing that she saw right through him.

" I love you and I love how good you are at you job, but..." He stopped looking at her sheepishly.

"But what?" Elizabeth was starting to get really concerned. When he started like that, it couldn't be good.

" Sometimes I feel that people don't see me as who I am anymore. They only see the man beside the Secretary of State."

"Okay..." Elizabeth didn't really know how to respond to that. "Where is this coming from? I thought you liked your new job and how much your colleagues respect you."

"No, that's not what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Friends, neighbors, strangers,..." Henry saw Elizabeth's confused face and knew she didn't get it just yet.

"When I picked up Jason's stuff from the mall I bumped into one of our old neighbors, Tony from Virginia? At first it was just small talk and catching up, but somehow the conversation took another direction. We talked about you and your job and suddenly Tony had so much to say, it just took me by surprise. He complained about your latest policy and things you should change. He talked to me thinking that I was your messenger. I felt so... humiliated, I guess? He didn't even ask about my job. To him, I was just your second half - the Secretary of State's second half. And it makes me feel like I'm not important to people anymore. It's just all about you and trying to get a foot in the door." He took a sip of wine trying to drown the emotions that conversation had pained him.

"Oh babe, I didn't know you felt that way." Elizabeth pulled him closer to embrace him in her arms. " I know that my job affects you more than we thought it would, but never doubt yourself. My position makes people's judgment a little cloudy and they don't even see what they have in front of them. They don't see the smart, kind and loving husband who is willing to be the man behind his wife without having to interfere in her work. And trust me, if people think you're not important, they truly don't know neither of us. You're the most important person in my life and treating you like a messenger won't get them anywhere. It's actually quite the opposite. Complaining to you about my work or using you as an excuse to get to me will just make it harder for them to stay neutral on what they have to say." She cupped his cheek in her hand and locked her gaze with him. "Henry, please don't ever feel any less because of people's stupidity. They have no idea what an amazing guy they have in front of them who is comfortable and capable enough to let me do what I do without advising or persuading me to do something I don't want to do. If they were smart, they would know how much you mean to me and how much I respect you, more than my work."

"Thank you." They just held on to each other knowing that nothing could get between them - whether it was friends, neighbors or strangers.


End file.
